Never give up with AAC
Profession
Organisation
Action scale of the organisation (European, national, local), if relevant
What does your profession involve?
Education and therapy of children with special educational needs, speech therapy, clinical speech therapy, communication difficulties caused by autism or intellectual disability, early childhood development support especially problems with communication.
Are you familiar with AAC methods? Since when?
As a special need teacher and speech therapist I am familiar with those methods since I started working at the school about 18 years ago.
In which situations do you use AAC methods?
I use AAC methods when I work with my students with autism or those whose speech did not develop in early childhood.
Which are the benefits of using AAC methods?
The main benefit of using AAC is the possibility for non-verbal people to express their needs and emotions. A child or an adult who feels understood and whose needs are satisfied feels safe and comfortable.
In which situation have you seen these benefits?
Using AAC helps a lot for children with autism and during early childhood development support classes. When children start communicating with a teacher, they open and show that they trust them, because they know they are understood. It improves the whole process of education and therapy.
Do you think AAC methods are well known in the educational field in your country?
AAC methods are pretty well known in the educational field in my country but not all teachers have access to specialist devices.
Do you think that AAC-related practices should be improved? Why?
Yes, I think so. We should be open-minded as we face more and more difficult cases in our practice and also there are better and more modern software to use.
Do you have any resources to share (websites, portals, books…)?
- AAC library
- ARASAAC
Advices to implement AAC methods at school?
We should never give up, try different methods, ask questions, cooperate with other specialists and the parents.